“It was box after box. It was very exciting, even for the adults organizing the distribution. As they unpacked, the reality hit on how many books we had for kids.” — Karen Paquette, literacy director for Lewiston Public Schools

LEWISTON — A few days before their summer vacation, kindergarten students stood in front of tables with piles of colorful books, faced with a tough choice.

Isaac Martin, Maggie Palmer, Heath Graves, Madison Ludwigsen, Eliana Dos Santos, Sakarye Abdullia and other McMahon Elementary School students had to decide which books to take home and keep over the summer. 

“Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type,” was a popular choice.

So was “Cock-A-Doodle Doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo,” “A Balloon for Isabel,” “Giggle, Giggle Quack” and “A Bad, Bad Day.”

After filling their bags, the little ones quickly sat down to read.

They read aloud, sounding out challenging words, asking the nearest adult what different words mean.

The scene was repeated in each of Lewiston’s six elementary schools.

Thousands of books — more than 13,000 — have been given to Lewiston students by Reading is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization that gives books to children in financially disadvantaged communities.

RIF has announced a two-year commitment to Lewiston from the Bingham Trust Partners to support Read for Success, a program to stem student summer learning loss.

Before summer vacation started Thursday, each Lewiston student in grades kindergarten through grade two received eight books. Citywide, a total of 11,200 books were distributed.

There are 1,400 K-2 students and 65 K-2 classrooms.

In addition to the books the students take home for the summer, each Lewiston K-2 classroom has been given 40 books — a total of 2,600.

At Montello Elementary School, “their faces just lit up” as children picked out books, literacy coach Kelly Johnson said. “A lot of students don’t have their own books at home, so this is a real gift. It keeps them reading and helps prevent that summer slide.”

Research shows the long summers often mean students lose about a month’s worth of learning. When they go back to school in September, they’re academically behind where they were in June.

The summer learning loss is worse for poorer students, research shows. They may often lose up to two months worth of learning because they’re less likely to be exposed to camps, frequent reading and interaction using school skills. It’s why Lewiston schools have started a number of six-week summer programs for students.

The RIF book giveaway is new for Lewiston, Karen Paquette, the literacy director for Lewiston schools, said. “As far as I know, we are the only school in Maine” getting books.

Paquette was contacted in the fall and learned the national foundation was interested in providing books to students and classrooms in the district. Lewiston, a high-poverty district, was chosen to receive books because of low student test scores that indicate a need. 

By the winter, she had details about the sheer volume of books the district would be receiving. She was stunned. 

“I asked them to repeat that back to me, then to send it to me in writing,” she said with a chuckle.

In March, hardcover books for classrooms started arriving, followed by softcover books for students in May. 

“It was box after box,” Paquette said. “It was very exciting, even for the adults organizing the distribution. As they unpacked, the reality hit on how many books we had for kids.”

Carol Rasco, president of Reading is Fundamental, said in a statement Thursday that this is the first time “Read for Success” has been made available in Maine. RIF has tested the program for two years nationwide among 33,000 students “with incredible outcomes,” she said. Of the 33,000 students, 57 percent saw gains in reading.

The hope is Lewiston students will have similar or better results, Rasco said.

Research shows when the summer learning slide isn’t addressed in the early grades, children can fall behind as much as three years in reading by the end of their fifth year.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com